These saucy beans will become a year-round favorite. They’re a great foil for smoky barbecue, and they’re comforting in colder weather. Navy beans are commonly used, but in New England, creamy, flavorful heirloom beans like maroon-eyed soldier beans, yellow-eyed beans, and maroon-and-white Jacob’s cattle are popular. They may need to cook longer.
Note:Several readers have given us feedback concerning the recipe’s cooking time, so we’ve provided additional tips from our Test Kitchen to ensure your beans come out perfect:
- Buy the freshest beans you can find. We suggest buying beans from a bulk bin at a natural foods store, if possible. If you buy them from a grocery store, a bigger, busier grocery store is preferable. Chances are better that the beans haven’t been sitting around long.
- Sometimes gas ovens cycle on and off and have trouble maintaining a low temperature; if your beans are not tender after 6 hours, your oven could be a factor.
- When you open the oven door to check on the beans, you’re lowering the temperature. Check your beans sparingly—and when you do—test more than one bean for doneness. Beans cook at different rates, so try a few.
- Finally, we know it’s hard to wait after smelling the beans baking for hours, but resting the beans for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before serving is essential for optimum sauciness.
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